BACK TO COLLEGE AS A SENIOR CITIZEN????

I have always wanted to go to college. I’m sure many of you know how that story goes...first, you don’t think you can afford it. Then you get a job and think you don’t have the time. Then you get married and, again, you don’t think you have the time. And then you have children and now you don’t have the time AND you don’t think you can afford it...so the list goes on and on. Or should I say the excuses go on and on?

A few years back I received a mailer from Wayne County Community College, or as it is referred to now WC3, which said “Seniors” can go to college for free. I immediately contacted them to find out their definition of senior because no matter where you go the definition of “senior” is different. Some places consider a senior to be 60, some 62, and others 65. Now, just so I don’t lead some of you astray, it is not completely free, you have to pay for your books and if you use a lab you pay for that too. But you get to sit in on classes for free.

Now, I find myself in the position of $hit or get off the pot. So I’m going to make the leap. I’m going to call and set up an appointment and find out what it is all about. This is all very intimidating since I haven’t gone to “school” in 44 years.

However, in my defense, I haven’t been stagnant in those 44 years. I’ve taken and passed the following classes:  Certified Medical Transcriptionist, State of Michigan Realtor, H&R Block Income Tax Preparation, Powerful Communication Skills for Women, Dale Carnegie - Effective Speaking & Human Relations, and Fundamentals of Finance for Executive Secretaries.

So wish me luck and say a prayer, I think I’m about to become a student again.

And so the journey begins...

It's hurting again

REDECORATING - Trials and Tribulations...

I’m getting ready to redecorate my bedroom and the choices, which used to seem to come so easily to me when I was younger, now have taken on more importance than they should. When I was younger, I saw it, I liked it, I bought it, and that was that. Now I look at, go look at something else, go look at something else, return to the first one, go look at something else and I just can’t seem to commit.

Somewhere around 10-12 years ago I saw a bedspread ensemble in a catalog and fell in love with it. I ordered it, my husband painted the bedroom and voila! I loved it, everyone who saw the bedroom loved it and I was pleased. (We are presently getting the bedroom ready to be painted, so now there is nothing on the walls - I thought I better take a picture of it before it is gone forever!)

Now, I am mulling over so many choices that I am on overload and don’t even seem close to making a decision. I think I know what the problem is though, I picked out the color palette that I wanted the entire bedroom to be BEFORE I found a comforter/bedspread ensemble that I fell in love with.

As I mentioned in an earlier Blog, I don’t have any qualms about returning items that I have purchased, however buying and returning several bedroom ensembles can get pretty expensive when you factor in the cost of return shipping. I don’t know if it just me but it seems the local stores just don’t have a great selection to choose from (and maybe that's a good thing - then I wouldn’t be on information overload).

Then, too, I have always been a person who loved florals and my husband is concerned that I may not be happy with the direction that I am headed for the new bedroom look, so I have his concerns rambling around in my head.

I love the chocolate brown walls!!!!

Do you think a former flower girl can change and like the formal look? Time will tell, time will tell. And so the journey begins...

FACEBOOK

As many of you know from a previous blog, I have a Facebook account. I still log on several times a day. I still check to see what is going on in the very busy lives of my children and grandchildren, my one granddaughter joking calls it “stalking” - at least I think she is joking???

But now mostly Facebook has turned into an opportunity to play games with friends and, if you are so inclined, you can play with strangers (and you never even have to find out who the stranger is).

A while back someone in the family started playing a game entitled Crazy Cow, where you hear a clip of a song and try to pick from a choice of four before the timer ends to earn points, and we would compete with one another. Then they got bored with that and went on to another game and so on and so on. I seem to be following them from game to game, OMG, maybe I am a stalker! LOL. Don't you just love the catchy jargon that I've learned? Now if I could just remember how to do those funny sideways faces they make, you know :) or ;) or <3 (this one turns into a "heart" when you post it - I love it the best).

Well, the latest game sweeping the nation is Word (you know the one that Alex Baldwin was playing and wouldn’t shut his phone off so he was kicked off the plane). As of yesterday I had nine Word games going. All the games are very fun and that is how I have always tried to look at them, as a way to have fun. Well, when you have a lot of games going and people depending on you to take your turn or make your move, you begin to feel a sense of urgency/obligation to get onto Facebook and make your move so the other person isn’t sitting at their end wondering “when is that person going to play?” So the Word game has turned into a little bit of a “have to do” instead of a “want to do” but I still enjoy it tremendously.

So if you are looking for a way to while away some time and you enjoy playing games, check some out on Facebook and have a little fun, it kind of gives you a sense of connection. I did it and I really am enjoying it, maybe you will too. And so the journey begins...

LAW ALLOWING DRUNKEN MINORS TO CALL 911?

I saw the following editorial in The News Herald on Sunday, January 29, 2012 and cut it out of the paper. Two of my granddaughters had called earlier and asked if they could spend the day with us and I thought “what a great opportunity to pose this question to them.”

When they were here I asked them “if you and your friends were out drinking, and you know that you are all underage and not supposed to be drinking, but one of your friends drinks way too much and becomes ill and then passes out, would you call 911 or would you be afraid of getting into trouble for underage drinking?

They both responded, without hesitation, that they would call 911 to get help for their friend. I was so proud of them and told them how proud I was of them and that they had made a very “adult” decision.

I then told them about this bill introduced in the Michigan Legislature that could make the decision to call for help much easier.

(I have paraphrased or shortened the editorial somewhat).

EDITORIAL: Bill allowing drunken minors to call for help makes sense

Published: Sunday, January 29, 2012 in The News Herald

Picture this: A couple of teens are drinking. One drinks way too much and passes out. The other, recognizing the risk to health and life, is ready to call 911.

But wait…it’s a crime to be in possession of or drinking alcohol if you’re under 21. Does the teen really want to make that call on behalf of a friend? The adult response, the answer from most adults, would be “Of course!”

Teens don’t always think that through. Nor for that matter do all adults. A bill pending in the Michigan House of Representatives would remove the hesitation.

Introduced by Rep. Anthony Forlini (R-Harrison Twp.), it would waive prosecution and grant amnesty to minors who have been drinking but who contact authorities seeking help for themselves or another person.

Waiving prosecution for a greater good seems uncommonly smart. “Underage drinking,” Forlini said, “is prevalent on our college campuses and through the communities. “Dangerous situations can occur when a minor drinks too much. Students put their classmates in danger because nobody wants to call for help because they fear being charged with “a minor in possession.” The bill makes it quite clear that they wouldn’t get in trouble by making that call.

Forlini said he doesn’t “want to see any parent lose a child because a teen was afraid to call for help.”

And he doesn’t want to see a minor punished for doing the right thing, regardless of who is being helped. It appears to us a legal chink in the false protection of zero tolerance, and that’s all to the good. We’re not sure what the limits of Forlini’s bill will turn out to be. Will a drunken teenager be in trouble if he seeks help for an entirely sober stranger? Will kids somehow learn to game the new law? Will the law operate differently if someone in a group of drinking teens calls 911? Surely not all would merit amnesty. The bill has advanced to the House floor. However it deals with the questions above, it deserves to become law.

What are your thoughts, how do you feel?  And so the journey begins...

SAD

Well, here I go again. I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Which is defined as: “Episodes of depression that occur at a certain time of the year, usually during winter.”

I have had this most of my adult life, however, it didn’t seem to bother me as much when I was working. I guess having something to get up and out of bed for is beneficial in this respect.

Isn't that sunshine pretty?

The definition goes on to say:  “Like other forms of depression, it occurs more often in women than in men.” Yay, for me...

The definition also states that:  “People who live in places with long winter nights are at greater risk for SAD.”  NOW knowing this, I have repeatedly asked my husband if we could become Snowbirds...Hello, we’re still in Michigan!

I love blue skies and fluffy clouds.

The definition further says:  Other factors that may make SAD more likely include: Amount of light, Body temperature, Genes, and Hormones. Symptoms usually build up slowly in the late autumn and winter months and are usually the same as with depression:

• Increased appetite with weight gain Again, yay for me....

• Increased sleep and daytime sleepiness
• Less energy and ability to concentrate in the afternoon
• Loss of interest in work or other activities
• Slow, sluggish, lethargic movement
• Social withdrawal Big one for me...
• Unhappiness and irritability And another biggee for me...Woo Hoo

My poor husband doesn’t know what to do or how to help, but God love him, he tries. 

So, to those friends and family who are wondering what is going on??? All I can say is: “It’s not my time of the month...It’s my time of the year.”

As the saying goes, "Hang on because it is going to be a bumpy ride."

See you in the spring!  And so the journey begins...

THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING

I love e-mail, it is such a wonderful way to stay in touch with people. Unfortunately, we have to face facts, in our society we no longer write letters (what a shame). What I don’t like are WARNING e-mails. I should clarify, “unsubstantiated” WARNING e-mails.

I do not like to forward garbage on to my family and friends, so when I get one of these WARNING e-mails I will type into Google the WARNING and see what pops up on my screen and proceed to investigate.  Many of them are Urban Legends, some of them are scams by hackers, and some are just gathering names and cities for what purpose I don’t know. I recently received an email warning me about onions and mayo causing illness (I checked it out...it was false). The most recent warned me about purchasing cards made by Hallmark, stating they were all made in China (I checked this out at my local store and found it not to be the case).

So, if I may, before you send our your next WARNING e-mail, check it out for validity before you send the proverbial THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING that was unleashed by Chicken Little.  And so the journey begins...